Active Reading Journal #6

I. Elements of Magical Realism
-“He shot himself in the chest with a pistol and the bullet came out through his back without damaging any vital organ” Pg. 103 This is Magical Realism because of being able to shoot yourself and the bullet missed the organs in the way. That is rare, but possible.
II. Characters
1. Arcadio- Is left in charge of the village and becomes obsessed with power and has killed people.
2. Colonial Aureliano Buendia- Leaves to join the war to fight for freedom to help his village. He has 17 children with 17 different people.
3. Ursula- becomes a bit aggressive with Arcadio, so upset with what he is doing to the town.
4. Pilar Ternera- Does not sleep with her son though he tries to.
5. Amaranta- Denies Pietro Crespi’s proposal but still loves him deeply and feels bad then she burns herself.
6. Pietro Crespi- Heartbroken and kills himself

III. Plot Summary
- Aureliano leaves with his troops and goes to war. Aureliano leaves his son Arcadio in charge of the village. We find out that Aureliano has seventeen kids with seventeen different women. Arcadio becomes a dictator and gets crazy over power and being rude to people. Arcadio forces himself to sleep with his own mother but Pilar refuses but gives him a lady to do the honors and they get married. The two had three kids together. The names are Remedios, Aureliano Segundo, and Jose Arcadio Segundo. The Liberals lose the war and Conservatives retake the village. Arcadio is killed by a firing squad. Eventually Amaranta is proposed to by Pietro but she refuses the proposal. Pietro is extremely heartbroken and he kills himself. Amaranta burns her hand because of what happened and covers her hand with a black bandage until she dies.

IV. Quotes
-“ I dare you to, bastard….And kill me too.” Pg. 105 This quote really jumps out at me because Ursula is actually becoming really strong as a woman to actually stand up to Arcadio with squads that could kill her.
-If I have to die, let me die fighting.” Pg. 116 I love this quote because it’s so deep. I would also like to fight if I was to die because at least I tried my last time before I left this earth.


V. Themes
1. Obsession- Arcadio becomes obsessed with control and becomes a dictator
2. Heartbreak- Pietro gets turned down by Amaranta to be his wife.
3. Guilt- Amaranta feels guilty because Pietro refused to marry Pietro and he kills himself because of it so she burns herself.